To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Essay

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee includes many key coming-of-age scenes. Of them, one of the most important realizations that Scout had was the hypocrisy of the people in Maycomb. In the novel, Scout says, “. coming out of the courthouse that night, Miss Gates was. talking with Miss Stephanie Crawford. I heard her say it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home.” (Lee, 283). In this monologue alone, comparison, irony, and tone are utilized to convey Scout’s message to the readers, and extensively, develop the theme of the novel. Primarily, the literary element of comparison is used when Scout juxtaposes Hitler’s treatment of the Jews versus the people of Maycomb’s treatment of the African Americans.

Therefore, Scout’s comparison shows the prejudice both Hitler and the people of Maycomb possess, in the matter of those who are only somewhat different from themselves. The theme of the novel, prejudice, is shown by this literary element. Furthermore, irony is used along with Scout’s comparison. She indicates that despite their similarity, the people of Maycomb still look down upon Hitler, saying that what he does is completely wrong. Scout says, “. how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home.” In this sentence, Scout is referring to African Americans. When speaking of this, Scout specifically implies the mistreatment of Tom Robinson in his case. In this way, she tries to prove to Jem the hypocrisy of the people of Maycomb when they express their resentment of